Playland(PNE) Vancouver Discussion Thread

[bert425]

Bill, you probably have that flowerpot head photo uploaded twice.

look at your pics carefully. . .   the pics that you don't manually place in your post, just go to the end.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Thanks, I'll check that.

(And....) Woo hoo! Did it! Now why the heck didn't I check my loaded photos, before?

We'll call it an "age thing", and leave it at that , mmmm'k?

Hugs.

[Nrthwnd]

3 hours ago, SoCalJasonland said:

So you only get 4 extra rides with your fair?  Sounds really cheap to me.  At least you got a "trackless" train

Yeah, but that was only this Fair, with the normal space (where extra rides used to be placed) completely gutted for the construction of the new Amphitheatre. That removal was also paired with removal of the entire north row of arcade games, and my very special on-site bar, The Ride Side Bar, too. Which I guess, is why there are so many Drink Huts this year onsite, as well as some larger bars that offer mixed drinks/cocktails, too.

Still, I was surprised that only four extra rides made it to the Fair. I expected a few more. But, what can ya do?

This may also lead to lower attendance next year, since the new outdoor stage won't be finished till 2026. And they seemed to cut down on themed displays, compared to previous pre-covid years.

Taken during the 2023 PNE ~ R.I.P. Ride Side Bar.

[SoCalJasonland]

That makes more sense about all of the construction taking up space and you did get an extra drink huts with mixed cocktails   4 rides does sound like a bad church carnival where 10 of the rides got stolen the night before but they held the event anyway.  Kind of weird the midway operator would even show up uness they were going to lose their fututure contracts.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Heh heh, I agree with the 'church carnival problem.' At least they got a few extra rides for The Fair, rather than avoiding it altogether. Still. I expect next year's PNE will be much of the same, as this past season was. Hopefully, they'll make it a bit different i.e. shows etc.  And I'm pretty sure that the PNE told the rides owner(s) in advance, that the new Amphitheatre construction would take some of their rides' space. So they probably still have a contract with the PNE.

But in the mean time, we wait, till then.

 

[Nrthwnd]

This past Thursday was our annual PNE visit, me and David. After having gone there a few times already, I told him what to miss and what we should look into .... and the BBQ RIBS meal, of course. So this visit took only a few hours. The ribs were great, the drag show was a repeat (for myself) but David really got a kick out of it, and started thinking back to when we   used to do shows at a very well known Vancouver Drag/Show bar called BJ's ! (Now that's another story thread, heh.) I enjoyed this show, just as well as the first time.

And then we just went for it, and bought a six-pack box of .... cannolis! a raspberry pair, a lemon pair, and an 'original' pair, being vanilla and chocolate bits.

And that was it for us! David spent a good 1/2 hour in The Market, I took a few photos inside, but planned to go there again, tomorrow. Maybe there will be a "PNE Final Day Sale" for me to check out......

Back to the front of The Fair, again.

And where we immediately went to - for a five o'clock meal of RIBS!

We looked at the portion of ribs, and thought we were getting more than the 1/2 rack we ordered.

V But then, I had this photo from last year's Fair, I showed it around and most of the staff freaked! V

This is that photo. And this is Steve. I made a joke about "Santa working part time in the off-season", lol.

Unfortunately, he wasn't there this year. But I hope some of the staff let him know, he was missed.

So we figured we got some 'extra ribs' due to us showing that photo of Steve. Or not, lol.

This rack of ribs was really nice and juicy. I might buy it again (1/3 rack) tomorrow. Hmmmm.

Almost finished. We didn't pack any leftovers for home. Corn bread and coleslaw were both great, too.

I find this fascinating, don't know why.

After eating, we headed over to the last show of the day, of ....

Would have liked to see and hear the pianos. but it never happened. Maybe next year if they're here again.

Not for this show. It's used for the Rollerland Building's (that is it's name) weekend skating, there.

This is 'Joan Jett'.

And here's 'Jon Bon Jovi'.

Definitely having a great time, here.

This a fuzzy 'Pat Benatar'.

At least 'Prince' wore a different coat for this show. First time I saw 'him,' it was all blue spangles.

The 'Heart' sisters, Ann and Nancy.

Inside The Market. What we first see. Vibrating ...thing-a-ma-jigs.

Lots of different clothing stalls.

Bling.

This was all for kids, but I have to check exactly what there was there. I need some close-ups here!

YOU WANT WOODEN ANYTHING? WE HAVE WOODEN EVERYTHING!

We have enough "wooden things" at home, so we passed on this.

Big open space. Very rare for the annual Market. Maybe the rental space costs too much for some, since covid?

Where a lot of us 'elders' ended up. Back massage, comfy chair .... mmmmm, Happy old people.

So much stuff in this set up. I know nothing, about any of it.

I thought of buying a 'mystery bag' for the heck of it. But ... I didn't.

Of all of these display towers at this stall, this is the one I liked the best.

Not sure why. Maybe it has to do with alllll those mushrooms. Hmmm.

After leaving The Market, we wanted some kind of dessert. Then we saw this.

It was a good decision. We ate the Original Cannoli there, and took the other four home.

Two lemon, two raspberry, and my Original, yet to be eaten. Cost $40 Cdn. for all six.

And our visit ended, for the day.

[Nrthwnd]

For my last visit to The Fair (and it's Closing Day), I decided to bus to the Playland Gate, get my last (for this season) $1 popcorn, then work my way up through all - those - food trucks, get ribs from the other spot that was selling them (called what else?  Truckin' BBQ!), and then make a real total 'tour' through the entire Market building. Easy! And I even bought something(s) there, too.

Back at my 'usual' Playland Entry Gate Doesn't look too crowded, here...

...But the queue for Coaster must have been 2-3 hours' wait, since they still were using only one train. Eek.

And I didn't even bother, to check on ThuderVOLT's queue, knowing it only runs one train, too.

All in all, it was a VERY CROWDED (slammed?) day, there. So I was very glad I wasn't doing a lot of stuff. Whew!

Both towers operating against a cloud covered sky.

Last look at the midway, before it closes up, not to re-open till 2025.

The Last $1 One for this season. It's still a great deal after all these years of having and using this bucket..

Up it goes!

Up it goes #2.

Up it tilts!

Last look at the Amphitheatre site, from this angle. Not to be seen again, from here, till next year's Fair.

An Arcade Prize winner's stuffie. I would not enjoy carting this around The Fair.

Nope. Still not for me.

Here we are. And I ordered a half-rack. With a side of coleslaw. Then got my last beer in Festival Park.

And it was just as good as the other ribs we had. And I enjoyed the creamy coleslaw as well.

While consuming my ribs, this big-ass band was playing on the "Music In the Park" stage. And they were great!

And now ...

Another great clothing stall.

More Bling.

Something for the kids to do. I see Princess Peaches and the Mario Brothers.  And it's got a short line up, so that's good.

For those with a passion for musical bowls, etc.

Ooooooooo.

These were the first 'variety' of candy apples I'd seen at The Fair. But...

THIS Is what I wanted. And I picked up a slice of Black Forest fudge. Chocolate w/cherries. Yum!

Dogs on Socks. Many many pairs of socks.

But they did have a (pitiful) section for cats, too.

Hats of all styles, shapes, colours, etc. It was basically an All-Leather Clothing stall.

We glanced at this booth, last Thursday. But I wanted to see more of it. So I came back. These are LEGO Figures.

And Lots - Of - Keychains!

And .... and .... Mystery Boxes. That tempted me, and I bought one. A Pikachu Terrarium collection box. Of six.

These are all for grating garlic cloves. Pretty.

Back to where we started last Thursday. Sign says ADULTS ONLY. And then I headed for the Exit.

I think it was a Well Fair. But with so much themed exhibits left out this season (and a LOT of food trucks),

I wonder how many will return to next year's fair, knowing the Amphitheatre still won't finished until '26.

Here's what $15 Cdn got me. #5 of the collection - with Kimori, a tree stump, and some weeds, lol.

Bit of a better look at Kimori.  So, I will go to next year's Fair, regardless of what's less and what's more, there.

[Nrthwnd]

For those of us that live close to Playland (and/or visitors!), they have their info. pages up for Fright Nights in October......

http://www.pne.ca